Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Luke 1 : 42 & 45

Readings this week Micah 5 : 2 – 5a; Hebrews 10 : 5 - 10; Luke 1 : 39 - 45

Thought for this week

How much of the birth of Jesus involves homes. Some homes like ours. Secure. Comfortable. Warm. Other homes that are makeshift. Basic. Desperate. Homes left behind for a time, to be returned to later. Others gratefully received as shelter, however rudimentary.

Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men all left their homes for a time. Each was hard. For Mary and Joseph, a young couple, trying to make sense of their lives and their circumstances. The shepherds leaving their sheep, their watch in the fields. And the wise men. No one knows how long they were gone for or how far they travelled.

And still Mary and Joseph, who had been through so much already, could not return, but find safety in Egypt.

So in the birth of Jesus God the Word had left His home in heaven. This is the miracle of Christmas. God Himself come to be with us. To reveal His love, His complete and overwhelming commitment, and His passion for the world and for each of us. To call each of us home to Him.

This is the wonder and the passion of Christmas. That Jesus came to be with us, is with us still, in the fullness of His sacrificial, redeeming love. Praise Him!

Rev Paul

Prayer for this week

We light a candle, to push the darkness back. Back you go, we pray. But we must push with more than a prayer… …

if we are to embody the love that does not know how to stop hoping; …

if we are to find peace when the world has fractured into pieces.

Christ-child, come. Bring your vulnerability, your fragility, your need, and the unexpected power of your presence deep in our souls.

Holy one, besotted with creation, you refuse to retreat, but shine without ceasing into our lives. Your love doesn’t stand back; your love rolls up its sleeves. As we wait for you to be born again, may we seek to welcome you, even when we don’t recognise your face. To welcome you as we welcome the stranger.

Christian Aid, Christmas 2024

People to pray for

For those waiting for news

For those with loved ones away for Christmas